Follicular Unit Transplant – FUT

The advent of Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) was first foretold in a study published by Dr. Bobby Limmer in 1994 showing results that were no longer “pluggy” in nature. A Follicular Unit Transplant is a procedure where hair is transplanted in its naturally occurring groups of 1-4 hairs. From a single donor strip the naturally occurring follicular units are microscopically dissected into their naturally occurring groupings. Since Follicular Unit Hair Transplants mirror the way hair grows in nature, the results in our hands will look completely natural as the units are planted correctly for angle and depth.

We treat the donor area with the same care as the recipient area; the donor hair is meticulously dissected from the donor area in the back of the head. We remove the donor material at the same angle that hair emerges from the skin to minimize follicle transection. We preserve blood vessels and nerves by carefully dissecting around them. We do not use cautery (burning) to stop bleeding as bleeding is minimal and controlled by gentle wound closure. We never use staples. In our view, staples are only a time saver for physicians, they leave tracks and unsightly results, and are uncomfortable for the patient. Much is written about trichophytic closures and it has its place. A trichophytic closure (dissecting a small strip of skin from the wound edge) is only performed if realignment of follicles cannot be accomplished adequately.

Once the donor area is removed under magnification we meticulously prepare the grafts so that the integrity of follicular units are preserved. We maintain the support structure around each unit to ensure maximum survival. Follicular Unit Hair Transplantation allows us to place these tiny grafts into very small recipient sites. The small recipient sites cause minimal damage to the tissue, allowing us to safely transplant thousands of grafts in a single session and to complete the hair restoration procedure as quickly as possible. The recipient sites are created at an angle that mirrors what occurs naturally. The grafts are placed elevated slightly so that the epidermis (that contains Keratin) will turn into a small scab and fall off. After placing of the grafts we never cleanse the scalp with hydrogen peroxide (a heavy oxidizer that causes cell death). Your scalp will have some blood specks present at the end of the procedure which will be gone after your first scalp cleansing 1 day after the procedure. The tiny recipient sites heal in just a few days leaving no sign that the newly growing hair was ever transplanted.

Follicular Unit Transplantation was a major advancement over the mini/micro grafting hair transplant procedure that had preceded it. It is leaps ahead of the round plugs of the not so distant past. Follicular Unit Transplantation combined with the skill and artistic abilities of Dr. Goertz, give results so natural it is impossible to distinguish transplanted hairs from naturally grown hairs.

Dr. Brian Goertz MD

Education:

MD cum laude 1979 University of Saskatchewan, Canada

BSc cum laude 1977 University of Saskatchewan, Canada

Certification:

Board certified by ABHRS 2007

Board certified CCFP 1989

Fellow of the ISHRS 2015

Dr. Goertz has been practicing hair restoration surgery full-time in the greater Seattle area since 2003.

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In over 30 years of caring for his patients he discovered differences in their health related to their lifestyle and dietary habits. After researching the scientific evidence behind what most people considered “healthy”, he discovered that what he found challenged the assumptions and popular beliefs about what is healthy and what is not.
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